Keith Ellison: “the appalling conditions at Walter Reed captured the Nation's attention this month and finally spurred this…”

“the appalling conditions at Walter Reed captured the Nation's attention this month and finally spurred this administration to begin taking action. But reports on the poor conditions at Walter Reed date back 2 years ago. The President and the Congressional Republicans did nothing. In fact, Lieutenant General Kiley, former head of Walter Reed, knew for years about the horrible conditions at the facility, but he claimed the problems "weren't serious and there weren't a lot of them." We now know that that was not true, thanks to The Washington Post and hearings held by the Democratic House. Oversight by the former Republican Congress could have stopped these problems long ago. But lack of oversight didn't begin or end with Walter Reed. Republicans also failed to look at the President's policies in Iraq, the administration's actions during Hurricane Katrina, or the firing of numerous U.S. Attorneys for political reasons. Madam Speaker, this Democratic Congress has already held 91 oversight hearings on these issues and others, and we will continue to uphold our legislative duty to oversee the actions of the executive branch.”